Gran Canaria Fires: Spanish Minister joins press conference, protecting life is priority

The president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Victor Torres, together with the president of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria , Antonio Morales , and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Agriculture, Luis Planas, have, at a press conference this afternoon, reported on the situation surrounding the Gran Canaria forest fires currently ravaging the mountains of Valleseco, Artenara, Tejeda, Guía, Gáldar, Agaete and Moya, that last night reached the protected area of ​​Tamadaba.

In total, more than 6,000 hectares (60km²) have been affected and nearly 9,000 people evacuated. According to the authorities the next 48 hours will be essential to controlling the fire in the central area of ​​the island. It is generally thought that 90km² could have burned by the end of today, which is half the total of the Great Fire in 2007.

A drone has joined the effort to fight the fires, along with four other aircraft and the brave teams that are currently working on extinguishing the blaze, the Minister of Agriculture said during his appearance. “The deployment of means to quell this fire is one of the most important actions carried out in recent years both in the Canary Islands and throughout Spain and the priority is to avoid loss of human life, as well as minimise material and social damage” stressed Luis Planas.

When questioned about blame for the current situation, Planas told reporters that this fire is less about politics, and more about climate change. “something is definitely changing” he said “something has changed”